


Jusqu’à ce que le soleil se cache (Until the sun hides)

by FeralCreed



Category: MCU, Marvel, Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: A Lot of Issues, Angst, Avengers as family, But they try, Cause I don't know how to tag, Clint Barton Needs a Hug, Clint Barton will get that hug, Clint Has Issues, Clint gets turned into a teenager, Clint had a fucked up childhood okay, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Underage Prostitution, Other tags to be added, Past Child Abuse, Past Child Neglect, Past Sexual Abuse, Past Underage Non-Con, Past Underage Sex, Some Fluff, Some humour, Steve and Tony don't know how to be parents, at all, author doesn't know how to tag, it ends up okay I promise, nobody knows how to deal with him, that's the important thing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2016-11-29
Packaged: 2018-07-25 13:57:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7535458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeralCreed/pseuds/FeralCreed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the aftermath of a mission, Clint is turned into a fourteen-year-old. The team is not quite sure how to deal with this. Steve and Tony step in, becoming the teen's legal guardians and adoptive parents, but they're only stopgap measures. Clint still has family that have a stronger legal claim on him, and the law is the law regardless of friendship.</p><p>Note: very little happens to Clint in the present setting of this fic. However, he had a fairly horrid life as a teenager and this work explores some of those things. Heed the tags, please.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Steve.”

“Nope.”

“Steeeve.”

“Definitely not.”

“I didn't even say anything yet!”

Steve sent Tony an amused look over the top of the book he was reading. “You don't need to. When you get whiny like that, you either want to have sex or explode something.”

“Give the man a gold star. Or better yet, me. Exploding things. Then flying off to Tokyo to have dinner with Pepper.”

“Tony. We discussed this. Neither of those are allowed until you get your cast off.” Tony had gotten caught in an explosion the week before because he shielded Clint from an explosion. Usually nobody on the team would have a problem with that, but Clint was already well on his way to escaping and Tony had thrown himself into the way rather than thinking things through. He'd been thoroughly scolded but everyone knew that wasn't any kind of deterrent.

“We didn't discuss anything! I was lectured and then we came home and I was in the medbay for three hours before you fed me and told me to take a nap.”

“Yep. It was a good talk.”

“Oh my god, you're horrible.” Tony came over, holding a drink in his uninjured hand, and flopped down on the couch next to Steve. “You should be paying more attention to me than to your book.” To prove that point, Tony squirmed around until he had his feet hanging off the end of the couch and his head in Steve's lap, trying to read along with him.

Steve sighed but gave in to the inevitable and dropped a hand to Tony's head, digging his fingers through his hair and rubbing at his scalp. Tony groaned in pleasure and his eyes flickered shut as Steve kept petting him. Even though he was in a committed monogamous relationship with Pepper, he tended to go to anyone on the team for attention when she wasn't around, and he'd learned from early on that the blond was great at being nice to him. When they weren't fighting and yelling at each other, anyway.

Tony hadn't been down to his lab as much as usual in the past week, but only because Steve had declared it off limits and had done a good job of enforcing that. So today his primary goal was to pester Steve into letting him down there for a few hours. It was hard work. Eventually he won, but only under the condition that the blond joined him to make sure he did not, in fact, blow anything up or set it on fire as he was prone to doing.

It was almost time to eat when the Avengers alarm went off. Tony perked up almost instantly, but Steve refused to let him suit up. When Tony appealed to Jarvis, the AI simply reminded him of his injuries and that, under the rules of his protocol, he was not allowed to give Tony access to the suits except in a life-threatening situation or with Steve's override codes. As co-leader of the team, Steve was the only one besides Pepper to have them. Despite all of Tony's complaining, he didn't pester Steve to give him permission to go out in the field. Steve gave him a firm order to behave and then jogged to the elevator to get his gear so he could join the team.

By the time they'd defeated the small mutant team running amok in Grand Central Station, it was the next morning and Steve was clearly exhausted as he fended questions from reporters to let the rest of the team make their escape to the Quinjet. Clint lagged behind the others, having been the one to go find Bruce after he'd started de-Hulking. He waited outside the jet for Steve to finish, which apparently made him a good target for the woman that came out of nowhere.

Steve threw his shield at her, but she deflected the blow before disappearing in a corona of green light. The team poured out of the Quinjet, setting up a defensive line around Clint and hustling him into the craft. Once they were in safe, Steve ran to join them, and in seconds the jet was airborne. Tony, who had gone utterly crazy watching that on the television from the safety of the Tower, ran to the elevator and ordered Jarvis to take him to the Quinjet hangar.

He had enough sense to stay out of the way as the team disembarked and the medical staff swarmed them, but once Steve stepped out of the fray and started looking around, he moved forward. Steve gave him a tight smile, clearly displeased with something, and Tony frowned. “What's wrong?” he asked, looking past him to the jet. “Is it bad?”

“It's... Well, it's something, all right,” Steve said, like he really didn't know what to say.

“With Clint, it's always something,” Tony pointed out. The entire team knew about Clint's dry humour, good aim, and tendency to get into trouble and fall over his own two feet. Since they were sharing a place to live in, Tony had done a little digging to find out more. Clint had been put into the foster system with his brother at an early age, only for the two of them to run away and join the circus. After that he'd bounced around a lot, eventually picking up some mercenary work and almost getting put on a SHIELD hit list before they decided to try recruiting him first. He was a walking human train wreck of a disaster and somehow managed to be endearing while doing it.

“This isn't anything we've had happen before,” Steve warned him. From the direction of the Quinjet came a yelled curse, followed by a brief moment of consternation before someone screeched “he bit me!” at the top of their lungs.

“So Clint's more or less fine,” Tony surmised. The archer kind of had a habit of biting when surprised and uneasy. Tony had almost lost a finger once but he'd ended up laughing about it more than anything. Pepper had been far less amused but Clint had at least mumbled something that might have been an apology under certain circumstances.

The fact that a skinny, feral teen dressed in Barton's suit bolted from the Quinjet was not something that he intended to laugh about, however. He evaded Steve with surprising agility and would have gotten past Tony if it weren't for the fact that Tony made a grab for him with the arm carrying a cast. It seemed to surprise both of them that he actually got a hand on him. Tony yelped in pain when the teenager smacked his cast but held on, swatting him upside the head for his trouble.

To his surprise, the kid honest-to-god snarled at him, looking far more pissed off than Tony had ever seen Clint no matter what the circumstances. Steve grabbed him then, pinning his arms to his sides and literally carrying him away. The kid started yelling and cursing bloody murder as soon as his feet were off the ground, squirming and kicking to escape but not making any progress.

“Is that Clint?!” Tony demanded when Steve came back, a line of healing scratch marks across one cheek. The medical team had sedated and cuffed the teenager, but he was still trying to get away from them despite the drugs starting to work in his system.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Steve said. “He was hit with some kind of de-aging ray. And so far, he doesn't remember any of us. Not even Natasha or Phil or Fury.”

“He tried to stab me, actually,” Natasha informed them, ghosting up from behind. Tony would never admit it, but he jumped, and he was pretty sure Steve did too.

“I thought that was just how you two said hello,” Tony joked.

“Only on Thursdays.” Natasha looked the same as ever, but she was clearly distasteful of what had happened. “Jarvis already put a call in to Doctor Strange and a couple other leading magical authorities. We should have some idea of what happened, and how to reverse it, within a few hours.”

“What if it can't be undone?” Steve asked, gesturing toward the now-unconscious Clint. “If he's stuck like this?”

“Then we take care of him,” Tony replied. “We make sure that he's okay and grows up in the best way he can.”

“He's feral, Tony. I don't know how much we can do with him.”

“Somehow he turned into the Clint that we knew. I'd bet that we can make that happen again. Especially since he has the whole team supporting him. You know him, Nat. And what he's been through. We're the only people that will have his best interests in mind instead of our own ulterior motives. Nobody else can be trusted with him. Something goes wrong, and he'll never trust us again.”

“I agree that it feels wrong to think about giving him up,” Natasha allowed. “But me might not have the best qualifications for raising a teenager. We're a team of soldiers, spies, and assassins who get attacked too frequently to justify calling the Tower a safe environment.”

“A lot better than anyone else that I can think of,” Bruce said. He and the rest of the team had come over during their conversation and listened to the last few sentences with interest.

“The last thing we need is somebody like General Ross in charge of him,” Steve agreed, giving Bruce a sympathetic glance. He glanced around the group. “Or Hydra, or the Red Room, or literally anyone else in our past. If Doctor Strange and his people can't figure things out, we can talk to Professor Xavier and see who he knows. But under no circumstances do we give Clint up unless he asks us to, and only to people we know will treat him better than anyone else.”

“Maybe Natasha can adopt him,” Tony suggested, grinning. He got a withering glare in return, but he knew that Nat wouldn't actually try to kill him in public, so he just shrugged at her. She rolled her eyes and looked away, effectively communicating that she wouldn't try to kill him for a while.

“Well, if he's gonna be a kid for a while, that's going to have to happen,” Sam pointed out. “Somebody will need to adopt him or be his legal guardian. Probably whoever is his emergency contact, or whoever that person designates.”

“I'm his emergency contact,” Natasha spoke up. “And I am the most unqualified person on this team to be in charge of a child.”

“Definitely not denying that,” Bucky agreed, slipping an arm around her waist. “Nat was raised in the Red Room, and they train girls to be incapable of being mothers. Even though she's come a long way and I've got faith in her no matter what, we can't risk anything when it comes to Clint. Sam's the only one that has any experience with modern day kids, so maybe he should do it.”

“You grew up with three sisters,” Steve reminded him.

“Kid needs two parents, Stevie,” Bucky said. “And I'm an even worse candidate than Natasha. I can't even keep myself straight without help half the time.”

“Maybe Red Death and the Winter Scowler should team up and raise him,” Tony suggested. Both of them glared at him and he grinned.

“Tony, seriously,” Bruce scolded him. “If neither magical nor mutant powers can figure things out, somebody is going to have to take care of him.”

“Well, we'll figure that out when we come to it. For now, let's make sure the wild child gets cleared by the docs before we put him on a guest floor. Under no circumstances does he get access to his floor or any weapons until someone else on the team gives him permission. Jarvis, make a note of that, please.”

“Of course, sir,” the AI replied. “Shall I remove Agent Barton's permissions and security clearance?”

“Yes. Good idea, J, thanks for looking out for us.”

“My pleasure, sir.”

The medical staff passed them at that point, teenaged Clint firmly strapped down on the gurney.

“Hey, he probably knows how to pick a lock with his toenails, so keep an eye on him,” Tony told them. Steve swatted at him, not appreciating his sense of humour and the genius whined in protest.

“If it's a simple lock, maybe,” Natasha said, and Steve looked surprised. “What?”

“Anyway,” Bucky said, poking at Natasha's shoulder. “C'mon. We won't do Clint any good by standing around here. Make sure he's all right and then we need to shower and stuff. Jarvis, can you call a team meeting when the first consultant gets here?”

“I shall do so, Sergeant Barnes.”

With that, the team scattered. After every mission, it took about an hour for them all to wander back to another central point. There were showers to be taken and wounds to be cleaned. But of course they'd end up meeting for food, which was a focal point of their lives. Post-mission team dinners were almost a requirement. Even team members drugged on pain meds and with casts tended to show up, despite the collective despair of the medical wing.

On this occasion, they ended up with half a burger restaurant in the kitchen of the common floor. There were also a couple pizzas on standby in the oven for whenever Clint happened to wake up. From years of experience, the team knew that Clint rarely, if ever, ate anything else just after a mission. Everyone yelled and talked with no sense of what an indoor voice was, and the television on in the background was just an added noise source.

Thor was happily recounting his part in the battle to the room at large. Sam and Tony were bickering over the performance of the EXO-7 wings. Pietro and Wanda were talking with Steve about a new museum exhibit the three of them were planning to attend. Bucky and Natasha were having far too much fun throwing knives at the dartboard and bickering about shooting and literature. Organized chaos would be a kind term. Mostly it was just chaos.

Jarvis cut through all the noise to announce that Doctor Strange had arrived and was currently in the medical wing. Tony immediately started complaining that Strange had managed to get past the security of the Tower, but Natasha pointed out that his magical abilities doubtlessly helped him do a lot. In any case, it didn't take long for the team to straighten out who would be best off going. They decided on Natasha, Steve, Tony, and Sam for the moment. Bringing everyone at once would doubtlessly freak out Clint.

It took little time for them to figure out exactly where Clint was. Mostly because half the medical wing seemed to be focused on the same room, from which there was a fair amount of yelling and crashing. Natasha and Tony looked faintly amused, Sam was frowning a little, and Steve appeared worried. Clint was insisting that he be let go and that nobody touch him. One of the nurses was speaking just as loudly and attempting to get him to get back in bed, from the sound of it.

“All right, let's break it up, here,” Steve ordered as he walked into the room. “Thank you for your help, nurse, but I think we can handle Mr Barton from here.” Most of the staff looked fairly sceptical about that, but they left the room to the Avengers. “I'm sorry for any misunderstandings, Clint. Our staff can be a little too efficient at times. Is there anything you need?”

“Nah, I'm fine, thanks,” the teen answered, voice harsh and sceptical. “How do you know my name? And who are all of y'all?”

“I'm Natasha Romanoff, and this is Sam Wilson, Tony Stark, and Steve Rogers. We were on the same team of agents as you, Hawkeye. Although you were about twenty-five years older. On a mission this morning, you were hit by a dose of magic that de-aged you to your current state.”

“Well, I know you're a goddamned liar,” Clint sneered. “What about these guys?” He clearly considered Steve the biggest threat to him, if the way he sized up the blond's physique was any indication.

“You better watch your mouth around Agent Romanoff,” Sam warned him, crossing his arms.

“There's a reason they call me the Black Widow,” Natasha agreed. “But Clint doesn't know anything about any of us, much less my reputation. How old are you? Eleven?”

“Fourteen,” Clint protested, then promptly shut his mouth, seemingly frustrated that he'd replied on instinct.

“And just as bad as you were at that age,” Tony said, elbowing Steve. “Honestly I would have thought sixteen, with that glare. So, Clint, Steve's totally a responsible person. Unfortunately so are Sam and Tasha when they need to be. But if you ever want to do something you shouldn't, just ask Jarvis to take you down to my workshop. I let everyone get away with way too much shit. C'mon, Steve, let's leave the brat alone. Betcha he's hungry anyway. We've got pizza up in the common room.”

Clint betrayed a brief moment of interest before his expression shuttered again. “I'm not hungry.”

“But you wanna get stuck in the medical wing getting poked at by docs?” Tony sounded scandalised at the very thought.

“I assure you, I shall do no poking,” someone else said. Stephen Strange came into the room, the fringe of his cloak sweeping the floor. “The medical profession is more sophisticated, the magical one, even more so.” As he approached Clint, the teenager drew back, eyeing him like he was some kind of poisonous snake. “Sit down, please.” He waved his hand and a chair appeared just behind Clint.

The teen didn't sit down. Instead, he crossed his arms and glared at Strange like he was the reason behind all of Clint's current problems. Tony shrugged and plopped down on the floor, clearly thinking that things would last for a good while. Steve sighed and shook his head but didn't try to get him to stand up. Instead he sat down himself, although on one of the chairs along the wall. Nat tugged at the chair that Strange had created and sat down, seeming to perch bird-like despite the fact that she was leaning back.

“Look, I'm sorry about all this,” Sam said. “But we just need to make sure you're okay physically. Then you'll get some freedom, all right?”

“Hey, I just want to get out of here,” Clint protested. “I don't know why you guys kidnapped me, but I've got people looking for me. Just take me back to the parking lot.”

“Parking lot where?” Steve asked.

“You're the ones that grabbed me out of it! I don't know which state, we were on the road all day. All I know is that we were in the northwest. Maybe Illinois.”

“What were you doing in the parking lot?” Natasha asked, almost sounding like she already knew the answer.

“None of your business, lady.”

“Ignorance or not, I'll teach you better if you keep disrespecting me,” Natasha told him coolly. Clint glared at her but ducked his head rather than replying.

“May I have your permission to take a look at you?” Strange asked, addressing Clint.

“You get out of here as soon as he does,” Sam promised.

Clint glared at both of them, hair falling into his eyes. He clearly would like nothing more than to take a hit at the two of them, but at the moment, that wasn't a very good option for him. Instead he shrugged and crossed his arms, uncomfortable but willing to deal with it so he could get out of the medical bay.

“I shall need a verbal answer,” Strange prompted him.

“Go ahead,” Clint told him, almost snapping.

“Thank you.” Strange ignored the teen's tone of voice and got to work. It didn't take him long to finish his examination, and he nodded to Steve when he was done. “I'll return when I have the necessary information to tell you what you search for.” With that he disappeared. Clint turned his glare on Sam.

“All right, let's get you something to eat,” Steve said, getting up and leading the way out of the room. “There's pizza.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Let's go, kid,” Tony said, putting an arm around Clint's shoulders once he was standing. The teen stiffened, and Tony picked up on that, letting go once he'd turned Clint in the right direction. “We've got four kinds, if I remember correctly. Cheese, pepperoni, a meat lover's, and one with everything. So I 'm sure you'll figure out what you like, if you don't know already.”

“I'm fine with whatever,” Clint said, sticking his hands in his pockets. “Don't eat much anyway.”

“Yeah, we can tell,” Sam interjected, grinning. “We need to put some weight on you, man.”

“Hey Steve, did you go through medical when you got back?” Natasha asked, standing up.

“Of course,” Steve said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

“Uh huh. Sam, let's get this idiot checked over before we go back up.”

“Aw, c'mon, Nat,” Steve whined “I don't need to!”

“Bet you don't. Come on, let's go. We're gonna make sure you're fit for business.”

Tony left them to their bickering, motioning for Clint to follow him to the elevators. By the time the doors closed behind them, the others were steering Steve toward medbay, but Natasha glanced over her shoulder enough to give him a brief smile. Tony understood exactly what she was up to then, that she'd realized Clint wouldn't want to be stuck in an elevator with four strangers.

“Jarvis, tell everyone that Clint and I are coming up to the main room so I can feed him,” Tony said.

“Right away, sir,” the AI required. Clint jumped a little at the voice coming out of nowhere, glancing suspiciously up at the ceiling.

“An artificial intelligence I created helps run the building,” Tony explained. “His name's Jarvis, it stands for Just Another Rather Very Intelligent System. So far I haven't run into any hangups with him, so tell me if you run into anything, would you? That's be a great help.”

“May I remind you that I've been operational for quite a while without any problems, sir,” Jarvis spoke. “Problems are highly unlikely to occur.”

“Which is why it's even more important that I'm told if there is one,” Tony replied. Most people only treated Jarvis as some kind of talking Google, an audio version of the internet. Tony, having made him, knew much better, and he talked to and pestered the AI all the time. Otherwise he was sure that Jarvis would get bored, inasmuch as an AI was capable of getting bored. Dealing with Dum-E, Butterfingers, and U took some doing, of course, but Jarvis' capabilities weren't in the least infringed upon by tracking three crackhead 'bots.

Clint didn't answer that, although he did eye the security camera in the corner of the elevator before ducking his head and staying silent until the elevator stopped at the common floor. The team was much quieter when they got there, apparently taking the hidden meaning in Jarvis' message to heart. For a person who didn't know them at all, it could be a bit much just to see them all in one place, but they at least weren't their usual rowdy selves.

“Pietro, get the pizza, would you?” Tony asked. Most of the team was gathered in the living room, so he led the way to the kitchen, where Pietro already was. “Hey, use the oven mitts,” he chided, swatting Pietro on the shoulder. “You're gonna burn yourself.”

“Irresponsible Tony Stark lecturing me on safety?” Pietro joked. Clint startled at his accent but didn't bring it up. “Must be serious.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Just use the mitts, Roadrunner.” He tossed one over and Pietro caught it, dutifully sliding it on and waving at Tony before opening the oven to get the pizzas out. Before long, all four boxes were sitting in a row on the counter. As Pietro moved to put the oven mitt back, Tony lifted the lid of the box holding the meat lovers' pie and took a slice. It was a little too hot to do that, and he made a whining noise at burning his fingers, but he took a bite anyway.

Pietro handed him and Clint plates, holding a third one himself as he grabbed two slices of cheese pizza and one of pepperoni. He leaned against the counter as he ate, ignoring Tony and Clint but not leaving them alone either. Wanda joined them after ten minutes or so, getting herself a drink from the fridge. Steve, Sam, and Natasha came in not longer afterward, and Bucky got up to kiss his girlfriend and ask if she wanted anything. Natasha simply joined him in the living room, curling up half on his lap in the big recliner they tended to commandeer for snuggling. Of course, their light display of affection was met with a handful of complaints from the team, which resulted in Bucky flipping them off and giving them a lazy smirk.

Clint was clearly taking a look at everything and everyone in the room. From some rather illegal personal experiences, Tony was pretty sure that he was casing the place to see who the best target for pickpocketing would be and how he could get away afterward. He nudged him in the ribs and pointed to the pizza boxes. “Get some more,” he suggested. It didn't take long for Clint to obey, fetching several more pieces. As usual, Tony was impressed with how much he managed to eat. Even more so since he was a teenager now.

“So you feeling okay?” Tony asked. “You took a pretty bad hit earlier. Not that you'd remember it now, but, y'know. Gotta let us know if you're hurting or anything so we can keep an eye on you.”

“Yeah, I'm fine,” Clint said immediately, straightening up a little. “What do you want me to do?”

“Nah, I don't need anything. But thanks for the offer.”

“I can pay you for the food.”

“Well, you know you don't have to, right? I'm a billionaire, I sure don't need money.”

“All right,” he replied quietly.

“Hey, you tired?”

“Yes,” Clint answered, dropping his gaze.

“No worries. Hey Pietro! Gonna get Clint settled in.” Tony motioned for the teen to follow him and went toward the elevators. “Jarvis, let's get him settled in one of the guest suites, shall we?”

“Of course, sir,” the AI replied. “Does Mr Barton have a preference as to which floor he stays on?”

“Uh, no,” Clint said. It looked like the idea of choosing hadn't occurred to him.

“Dealer's choice, J,” Tony told the AI. Within moments, the elevator started, taking them upwards. The doors opened onto one of the floors that had been renovated into temporary living quarters. “All right, I'll show you around, make sure you know where everything is. You can always ask Jarvis, too.”

The suite was about twice the size of the average New York apartment. The living room was equipped with a large flatscreen tv and several video game consoles, along with a Blu-ray player, although Tony explained that the common media library contained millions of movies and games in HD. After that was the kitchen, with marble countertops and stainless steel appliances that made Clint look curious. Once the bathroom was introduced, and Tony showed him how to work the bathtub and shower controls, they moved to the bedroom. It was the only room in the suite that wasn't tiled, being floored with thick brown carpet. The queen sized bed had a decorative headboard and the rest of the furniture was dark-stained wood to match.

“So what do you think?” Tony asked.

“It's big,” Clint commented.

“Well, I'm sure there are smaller ones if that makes you uncomfortable.”

“No, it's okay,” Clint hastily assured him. “I just didn't expect that. Thank you.”

“Yeah, no problem.” Tony grinned at him, pleased. “Right, so. None of your old clothes are gonna quite fit you since you're a kid now. We're going to have to go shopping eventually but we can leave that for a day or two. Figure out what you'd like.”

“I'd like to go home.”

“Kid, this tower has been your home for years. Ask Jarvis to show you records and stuff if you don't believe me. But this is the only home you've got as far as I know. If there's anywhere else, you're free to go, but I don't think there is.”

“Agent Barton does have a secondary residence in Bed Stuy,” Jarvis announced. “I believe he has ownership of an animal at that location.”

“What.” Clint looked highly sceptical at this information.

“Oh hey, right, Pizza Dog,” Tony said. “I can't believe I forgot that. Hey J, you got the address on the servers?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Can you ask the team if someone will go over there and get the dog? I don't want to leave him alone overnight.”

“I shall do that immediately, sir.”

“But I don't have a dog,” Clint protested.

“Not that you remember, I guess. But you got him a couple years ago. He's a super great dog.”

“Super great,” the teen repeated. “But I can't afford to have a dog.”

“Don't worry about it, all expenses covered. Like I said, I'm a billionaire. I can afford it. So, someone will be by sooner or later with the dog. Other than that you don't have to do anything tonight. There's shopping tomorrow, and probably a few other people wanting to take a look at you and see if we can figure out how to get you back to normal. No pressure with them, though, we're not letting total strangers in here to poke at you or anything. They're all good people. With all that out of the way, is there anything else you need?”

“No, sir.”

“Jeez, kid, 'sir' was my father. Call me Tony. I also answer to 'hey, you'. But anyway, just have Natasha bring you down to the workshop sometime tomorrow and we'll make sure you guys will have fun on your shopping trip.”

“You're not coming?”

“Well, I guess I can. But I don't know anything about fashion or anything like that. I'd just be coming along to shove money at the people who do know what they're doing and maybe get kicked out of a toy store or something. Long story, that one. All I can say is that I was a little tipsy and that remote control car worked way better when I was done with it.”

“All right,” Clint answered, shrugging a little. “How do I find Natasha?”

“Just ask Jarvis,” Tony explained, like that was the obvious answer. “You can talk to him about anything that you need or that you're curious about or anything.” Clint just nodded at that, instead of answering, so Tony said goodbye and left.

Once he was alone, Clint took another look around the suite. The place was huge, especially since he usually shared a trailer with four or five other guys. It was barely big enough for them all to sleep in, and this place could probably have fit the entire troupe in the living room if they moved all the furniture out of the way. He couldn't help but be suspicious of what Tony would want in payment. Nobody got this kind of stuff for free, especially not an orphaned carnie kid.

More than anything, he wished Barney was here. His brother had been rough sometimes, but he'd always looked out for him. Clint had done his best to do the same, but there was no denying that Barney had always done more for him. Even after they'd joined the circus together and Barney had been ignored by one of their mentors, who had given Clint his tutorship instead, Barney had always made sure Clint was okay. There had been some tension and rivalry between them, but when it came down to it, they'd always choose each other.

He poked around a bit before sitting down on the couch, curling up against the arm. Once someone came around with the dog he supposedly owned, he honestly wouldn't mind going to bed. For some reason, he felt strangely exhausted, which practically never happened. It was the effect of the de-aging, not that he knew that. Jarvis asked if he wanted the television on, but he declined. Before long, the AI told him that Natasha was in the elevator with Lucky. Clint allowed Jarvis to let them in, standing up before the doors opened.

Even though he hadn't been sure who was in the elevator, a one-eyed yellow dog was not what he was expecting. The animal charged him, tail swinging wildly, and crashed into Clint's legs so hard that his own slid out from under him. In moments he was back on all fours and licking at Clint's hands, apparently wildly happy to see him. Clint pet him on instinct, unable to resist a happy dog giving him attention, before drawing his hand back and looking up at Natasha.

“That's Lucky,” she said. “I've got a box of his stuff.” She set the cardboard box next to the couch. “Food, bowls, leash, stuff like that. He peed on the way here but you'll need to take him out again tomorrow morning after you feed him. Jarvis can probably tell you how much to give him. You need anything?”

“Do you?” Clint replied, looking her up and down.

“You're cute, kid,” she answered. “Keep it up and I'll remind Steve that you need to be in school.” Clint made a face and shut up. “Anyway, I will be taking you shopping tomorrow. Meet me on the common floor for breakfast at eight thirty. Jarvis will set an alarm for eight and he'll be able to take you there. So no excuses to not show up.”

“I'll be ready,” Clint said, a little crankily.

“See you tomorrow, then.” Natasha patted him on the head, grinning at his expression, and then left.

Lucky glanced up at him, panting heavily and slapping his tail against the floor. When Clint looked down, he jumped to his feet, tail swinging wildly. He nudged Clint's hand with his nose, licking at his fingers eagerly until the teen pulled his hand back. Despite the fact that he found all of this strange, Clint couldn't help admitting to himself that the dog was pretty nice. As soon as Clint scratched him behind the ears, the dog flopped down on the floor and rolled over on his back, trapping Clint's foot under him.

“You're weird,” Clint informed him. Lucky panted happily and pawed at his leg. Clint moved his foot and went into the bedroom, ignoring the dog when it followed closely behind him. Since he apparently had to be up early the next morning – Natasha was clearly not to be messed with – he went to check out the bedroom. Upon seeing the bed, Lucky instantly jumped up and made himself at home, refusing to be budged when Clint pushed at him.

“Aw, you're a jerk,” Clint grumbled. The dog clearly didn't care, however, so Clint just did his best to move him enough that he could get into bed himself. Once he did, the dog got up and padded up the bed to join him, snuffling at his face until Clint swatted him away. Lucky sneezed and laid down, laying his muzzle across Clint's chest. It was clear he wouldn't be rid of the dog any time soon, so he sighed and dropped a hand to rest on his head. His tail swiped across the bed and he snuffled before closing his eye and going quiet.

Despite the fact that he'd found Tony and the others to be a bit weird and didn't trust any of them, Clint fell asleep almost instantly. He slept lightly, as he usually did, but didn't wake up except when Lucky got up to move around and flop down across his leg. The dog was still annoying, but while Clint would never admit it, Lucky was kind of growing on him. After all, dogs were dogs, and he'd always liked the different canines used in some of the circus acts.

Early in the morning, Lucky made a huge amount of noise and motion jumping out of the bed and going out into the kitchen. Clint never really managed to get back to sleep after that, but he stayed in bed until Jarvis told it him it was time to get up if he would be on time for the breakfast on the common floor at eight thirty. At that, Clint did plenty of grumbling, but he got out of bed anyway, brushing a hand up the back of his head. His hair was standing on end but he didn't exactly know that, and he wouldn't have cared even if he did know.

“Coffee,” he mumbled, moving into the kitchen. He was still too tired to see straight, but he was capable of seeing that the coffee pot was empty. It only took him a moment to figure out the basics of how it worked, and he slumped against the counter as he waited for it to finish brewing, forehead pressed against the cabinet door.

Lucky came over, tail banging against everything, and stuck his nose into the back of Clint's leg. The teen yelped in surprise, banging his knee on the cupboard, and cursed under his breath. “Dog,” he grumbled. Still, he dropped his hand to the dog's head and scratched behind his ears. Lucky's tail sped up, not that Clint knew how that was possible, and he snorted under his breath.

Fortunately the coffee was ready not long after that, and Clint rummaged around in the cabinets until he found one with mugs in it. Lucky waited patiently, tail tapping against the floor, until Clint looked over at him. “Whatcha want, One-Eye?” he grumbled.

“I believe he wishes to be fed, Mr Barton,” Jarvis suggested.

“Jesus!” Clint jumped violently, spilling coffee down his front. “Ah, c'mon.”

“My apologies, sir. The Tower's inhabitants, including yourself, are generally accustomed to hearing my voice.”

“Yeah, no, it's fine. I just gotta change before... before I was supposed to be there five minutes ago. C'mon, dog, out of the way.” Nudging the dog aside with his leg, Clint went into the bedroom and found another pair of sweatpants and a hoodie to change into. Lucky followed him, so Clint stopped long enough to fill his bowl with dog chow before grabbing the coffeepot and his mug. He poured himself another cup as he waited for the elevator to take him to the right floor, and by the time he arrived, he was already taking a drink.

“Well, well, look who showed up,” Natasha commented, uncrossing her legs. Clint gave her a half-hearted glare, still fairly devoid of caffeine, and slid onto one of the bar stools. He set the pot down in front of him, which got him an amused look from Sam. Bruce just glanced at all of them over the top of his glasses and went back to reading the scientific journal he'd brought with him.

He was pleasantly surprised by pancakes, cooked mostly by Steve and Bucky. Most of the surprise was that the dude Tony referred to exclusively as 'Murderbro' was capable of cooking without gasoline or arsenic. Probably because of Steve. Steve told him that Tony was in his lab working on something with Wanda, and that Clint and Natasha would be meeting them down there before going out to a nearby mall. Clint just nodded, too preoccupied with the food to care much about the plans for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, new chapter! And Lucky. Gotta love the Pizza Dog. One hell of a shopping trip, coming right up.


	3. Chapter 3

Once they were all done eating, Bucky took charge of cleaning up the kitchen, practically kicking Steve out to 'go deal with the teenagers', including Tony in that age bracket. Bruce offered his help to Bucky, and when turned down, just settled in at the table to finish reading. Natasha motioned for Steve and Clint to follow her and moved toward the elevators.

Natasha elbowed the teen in the ribs when he slouched, and he scowled at her. The look he got in return made him instantly straighten up and regret it, and he was sure that she was smirking at him a little. He followed her out of the elevator once it stopped again, glancing around the floor that they'd been let out on. It was evidently some kind of workshop, and he was pretty sure that the music would have been almost deafening if he could hear properly.

Tony flipped up the visor he was wearing and glanced at them, curious before he remembered why they were here. “Yeah give me like I don't know five minutes or maybe thirty seconds it depends on this soldering.” He promptly ignored them and picked up his tools again, snapping the clear plastic back down over his face. Clint blinked, trying to make sense of the run on sentence, but Natasha seemed to think it perfectly ordinary and tugged Clint into the lab, sitting down and nudging a stool to the teen. Steve just rolled his eyes and went to say hi to Dum-E, who was sweeping at a pile of papers.

Rather than five minutes or thirty seconds, it took almost twenty minutes for the mechanic to finally put everything down and take the mask off. “Ohhh hey you're still here. Excellent. Let's go. Jarvis, wallet?”

“By the sink, sir,” the AI replied.

“Great.” Tony went over and grabbed it, then motioned for the others to follow him. “All right, garage and then we're out of here. Nat, which one should we take, I assume you know what we need.”

“Something with a trunk. Who knows how long he's going to be like this.”

“Ew, do we need to give him the bee bird talk?”

“You mean the birds and the bees?” Natasha asked amused. Steve shrugged, glancing curiously at him.

“The why you shouldn't have sex talk?” Clint butted in.

“He's good,” Tony said dismissively. “Okay, so no sex or stealing or lying. Listen to Natasha and Steve and probably don't listen to me. And this'll all be fun!” Clint stared at him like he was a little crazy but Tony was perfectly used to that and just led the way to the elevator, which took them to the garage.

When they got there, Clint's ideas of Tony changed a little. He was hardly a mechanic, even though he had helped fix cars a few times before, but he could tell that these were gorgeous and well maintained. A pegboard near the door held the keys to all the vehicles, and Tony grabbed the ones assigned to a 2009 Camaro, black with two purple stripes down the hood and flame detailing around the wheelwells.

“It's nice,” Clint murmured.

“So, in our reality, where you're an adult, this was yours,” Tony explained. “Inside is all the highest quality black leather with more purple accents. Backlights on, like, everything. And a lot of it is glow in the dark or lights up. Everything's purple. You liked that kind of thing.” He tossed Clint the keys, and the blond caught them in one hand, tilting his head sideways in curiosity.

“No way am I letting you on the street until I see you on something that's a little less perfect. I put a lot of work into making her special. But...” Tony trailed off, grinning a little. “You can unlock her, start her up, and maybe drive her to the doors.”

“Tony, you sure?” Steve asked, concerned. “Does he even know how to drive?”

“Yeah. I don't have a license but I learned.”

“Okay, cool. Go on, see how she feels. Might have to move the seat up a little.”

Clint lost no time in doing so. The car beeped twice as it was unlocked, and Clint opened the door, taking a long look inside before actually sitting down. Natasha was smiling a little, Steve looked a little worried that Clint would crash the car, and Tony was grinning. And while Clint wasn't entirely sure that he wouldn't do something wrong, he couldn't deny that he would love a chance at driving the car, even if it was just once.

Steve and Natasha got in the backseat, Tony claiming shotgun as he pulled a pair of sunglasses from the pocket of his jeans. Clint did indeed need to move the seat up, but he apparently knew how to drive as well as he could as an adult. Even if he did take the turns a tiny bit too fast. Natasha didn't even bother looking where they were going, instead glancing out the window at the passing scenery of the garage's interior. Steve looked like he was barely restraining himself from backseat driving, but he was really careful of other people despite his utter lack of self-preservation.

Even though Clint looked thoroughly reluctant to hand over control of the car, he put it in park and got out of the driver's seat. Tony was smiling at him, evidently very pleased with his success. “I'll find some track where we can make sure you can actually drive and then I'll get Jarvis to print a driver's license. Won't be any trouble to put you in the system.”

“No,” Steve refused. “He's going to learn to drive and actually take his test in order to get his permit. And then he can get his license later, in the way he's meant to do by law.”

“Ugh, you're no fun,” Tony complained.

“Tony. We're going on a shopping trip for clothes. You can't just give him a car like that.”

“Steve, it's his car. He owns the title and stuff. Although I pay for insurance and gas and everything, but still!”

“Anthony Stark,” Steve said warningly.

“We'll talk about this,” Tony decided, doing his best impression of a grown up. Steve rolled his eyes but nodded, sitting back in his seat. Once the wheel switched hands, Clint claimed shotgun, taking the time to peek into the glovebox and otherwise look around. He found a mini crossbow in the former and was more than happy to play with it, over Steve's protests that he shouldn't be allowed to fool around with weapons. Tony insisted that he could do better with it but Natasha told him that he wasn't allowed to do so until they got back to the Tower.

Eventually they made it to the mall, which was filled with swarms of people and cars. For the most part it wasn't too bad, since it was early in the morning, but it was hardly empty. Natasha put most of her focus on scoping out cameras and suspicious figures, and Steve paid attention to security, but Tony was ignorant of those things and instead dragged Clint over to one of the maps that was posted of the mall.

“Clothes first,” Tony decided. “We can't have you running around in the same outfit for, like, three days straight. Take anything you want, I've got unlimited accounts open for all the Avengers. And I mean, you aren't really in fighting condition at the level you were, but you're still a member of the team.”

“He's not, actually,” Steve interrupted. “There's an age limit at SHIELD, never mind for the Avengers. Once he turns eighteen, he's most definitely welcome to be put back on the roster, but until then, he's a minor living under our care.”

“Aw, you're no fun,” Tony pouted.

“Is it better for him to get hurt because he's still a kid?” Natasha asked, raising an eyebrow. “Give him a couple years to play video games and fetch with Lucky. Time enough for him to earn his keep later. Not like we're going to make him go anywhere.”

“Free room and board, Barton, ya can't beat that.” Tony shrugged and motioned for them to follow him, leading the way to the nearest clothing store. “So we're gonna go through the entire place, and you can get whatever you want. We'll grab lunch and then head back to the Tower.”

“That's a lot of money,” Clint pointed out quietly.

“Eh, I'm a billionaire. I'd be like a quadrillionaire or something if I didn't throw so much cash at the Avengers and toys and stuff, but it doesn't really matter. Nat, you gonna stay with us or case the place?”

“You'll know when you see,” she replied calmly, half ignoring him.

“Fine, fine. Spies, Clint, you honestly can't do a thing with the lot of 'em. But if Nat's gonna go wandering then I'm sure Steve will stick with us.” Tony got thoroughly distracted with the contents of the store not long afterward, grinning as he picked out a distressed black t-shirt with the Iron Man logo spraypainted on it.

“Do you really think that's going to fit you?” Steve asked sceptically.

“Well, I'll know when I try it on,” Tony pointed out. “And if it doesn't, I can get JARVIS to find me one that will.” He laid the shirt against his chest, craning to get a look to see if it would fit. “Looks close enough. You stay with Jr Hawkeye and I'll go try it on, huh?” Before Steve could object, Tony patted his chest and moved toward the dressing rooms in the back.

“Go make sure he doesn't do something ridiculous,” Nat said, pointing after him even though she didn't turn from the racks of clothes she was looking at.

“It's Tony,” Steve protested.

“Even more ridiculous, then. Go on. Shoo.”

Steve rolled his eyes but did as told. Natasha didn't bother to pay much attention to them, only keeping half an eye on Clint as she searched for clothes that would fit him. He didn't seem too interested in choosing clothes for himself, so Natasha just looked for the right size and judged what he'd want based on his facial expressions. They had plenty of other places to look, so she didn't go for a huge amount, but she was hardly empty-handed.

Tony and Steve disappeared for a good while before returning. Steve looked thoroughly exasperated by whatever he'd had to stop Tony from doing, not that Natasha could blame him. Knowing Tony, they'd probably been in three other stores while the supersoldier attempted to track him down after he slipped out of the dressing rooms. After rolling her eyes, she said that they were done in this store and asked for Tony to pay for what she'd picked out.

“Clint's not gonna try it on first?”

“He already did.”

“Did he try anything else on?” Tony asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Tony,” Steve hissed.

Natasha huffed and plucked Tony's wallet from his pocket, earning an outraged squawk, but she ignored him as she went toward the cashier. “You need to pay for the shirt you're wearing, too,” she called over her shoulder, and the genius followed her with a grumble. Once they have everything paid for – and the girl at the register gave them a weird look – Tony led the way to the next store. There's a SI security guard that trails them, and a few stores later, they hand off their purchases to him so they can be taken to the car. It's a blatant show of being ridiculous, in everyone's opinion but Tony, but it's the best choice in case of any problems.

“Ooh, let's check this out,” Tony said, darting into a toy store featuring electronics and fandom merch. Steve gave an exasperated little sigh but the three followed him in. Before long, Tony was lost in checking everything out, Steve watching him with an amused little smile. Natasha poked about, picking out one or two little trinkets that caught her eye. For Clint, she chose a nightlight, and while he scowled at her, she just rolled her eyes. He didn't get why it's a turtle with an orange mask around its eyes, but she just patted him on the head and moved toward the register. Eventually they got Tony out of the store without him taking apart half the things inside, and Natasha steered them toward the next clothing store rather than let Tony distract them.

Steve and Natasha went to check out the food court when they got to that area of the mall, while Tony wandered into another store and Clint followed him. Clint hadn't made a habit of choosing things for himself, especially not expensive things, but Tony was far too free with his money unless he outright hated someone. And even though he never really knew the adult Clint as well as some people did, the Avengers were family.

Tony wasn't particularly the most knowledgeable when it came to clothes and fashion, either, but he wasn't inept. He could figure out which colours and patterns go together. Mostly because Pepper tried to teach him while she was working as his assistant. Since they had plenty of clothes already, Tony didn't really look too hard for things unless he saw something that he thought the adult Clint would have liked. He was sure that his tastes hadn't changed despite his age. And between Jarvis and the team, he'd at least have the chance to watch all his favourite movies and such and decide if he still liked them.

“You liking everything so far?” Tony asked, poking at a display of jeans. “I mean, you really don't say much, but I figured you would've whined at us if you didn't like something. After all, we're not going to be the ones wearing all this stuff. Even though chances are that you'll be back to normal in a couple days. Can't let you go walking around in the same clothes all the time, can we?”

“Whatever you guys are good with,” Clint said with a little shrug. He knew he'd be expected to pay for all of this eventually, even if it wasn't with cash. And besides, he hardly had any claim on Tony's money or where he decided to put it. Before they sent their bags off to the car, Tony had pestered him into changing into one of the outfits they'd gotten for him, and Clint couldn't help but admit that he'd never been better off. Even before his parents died, and when he was in different foster homes, they'd rarely had enough money to go anywhere, much less a big city mall.

“No, seriously.” Tony stopped wandering, stopping between a rack of jeans and the start of the shoe section, and focused on Clint instead of the store. “Have we gotten anything you don't like? Anything?”

Clint just shrugged a little, taken aback somewhat by the intensity of Tony's concern for him. “Everything has looked great. And, I mean, this fits, so I'd bet the rest of it will too.” He smoothed his hands down his shirt, sticking them in his pockets and shrugging a little as he glanced up at Tony, biting his lip. “I really appreciate it.”

“It's fine,” Tony said, smiling a little. “Not like you're being a total freeloader. You can start pulling your weight when you're old enough if you want, but we're not gonna force you to do anything.”

“And I want to,” Clint assured him. “Might not be an adult, but I'm not a little kid.”

Tony chuckled at that, getting distracted by a display of shiny leather boots. He picked one up, turning it over in his hands. “What do you think of these?”

“Looks expensive,” the teen admitted, but he reached out to take it anyway to get a better look. He set it back without verbal comment but bent over to take a look for his shoe size, running his finger down the line of boxes. Upon finding them, he made a pleased little noise and sat down on the floor to pull them on.

“Fit's good?” Tony asked once he has them on.

“Yup,” Clint agreed. He got up and walked a few steps before coming back to Tony. “I like them.”

“Great. You wanna look for anything else?”

“Sure, if you don't mind.”

“No, not at all,” Tony said casually, waving his hand toward the dressing rooms at the back of the store. Clint nodded a little and wanders off to take a look. Tony lost him for a moment but found him again in the dressing rooms, modeling a pair of black skinny jeans along with the boots he'd most recently tried on and a stylised Iron Man t-shirt. “Hey, not bad,” he told the teen approvingly.

“I dunno how I'm gonna get these jeans off,” he replied with a little grin.

“Pft, you're smart. You'll figure it out.”

“Maybe so, sir.”

Tony raised an eyebrow at the referral to him but didn't comment on it, his attention instead falling to his phone. When Clint's hands landed on him, he made a noise of surprise as he was pushed back into the dressing room. He opened his mouth, starting to ask what was wrong, but Clint was kissing him, hands unbuckling his belt and unzipping his fly while Tony's mind was still blank with shock.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on,” Tony blurted as Clint sunk to his knees, pressing open-mouthed kisses to Tony's cock through his boxers. “Kid... hey... what're you doing?”

“Earning my keep, sir. When we get back to the Tower, you can do whatever you want to me. I want to serve you.”

“Hey, no, absolutely not.” Tony got his palm against Clint's forehead and shoved him back, ignoring the teen's attempt at kissing his wrist. “Stop that right now.”

Clint drew back a little, confusion furrowing his brow. He sat back on his heels, tilting his head a little. “Well, how do you want me to pay you?” he asked, sounding frustrated.

“Jesus, kid, not like that!”

“You want me to take it up the ass instead? Give me something.”

“Absolutely not.” Tony looked ill at the thought, and he crouched down, trying to ignore the fact that he probably looked half-ludicrous with his jeans around his ankles. “Hey, that's nowhere near what I meant when I said you could pay me back. You-you're just a kid, Clint. Nobody should ask that of a child. I might be a playboy and a jerk, but I'm not like that.”

Clint just huffed and glared at him, folding his arms across his chest. “Fine, then!”

Tony reached out and cupped Clint's face, sighing. “I get that you wanna be useful or something. But you don't have to be. You can hide in your room all day long if that's what you want to do. And you certainly don't owe sexual favours to anyone. Not even someone who gives you something.” The teen just half-glared at him, not entirely believing but not pressing it. Tony sighed and leaned forward just enough to press a chaste kid to the top of his head. “I'm not some sugar daddy, kid. I'm just looking out for a friend. Don't ever do that again, okay?”

“Okay,” Clint grumbled. He stood and moved back, arms across his chest, as Tony fumbled to get his jeans back up. Tony mirrored his pose once he was clothed again, out of his depth for once. Eventually he sighed and threw his hands up, putting his hands on Clint's shoulders and pulling him in for a hug.

“You don't ever have to earn anything, I promise. I'm gonna take care of you.” Tony finally pulled back, eyeing Clint. “Now c'mon, brat. We're gonna get you fed and take you back home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took me long enough but a new chapter up! Questions, comments, concerns, etc. - willing to hear 'em all.


	4. Chapter 4

Clint followed Tony back out of the dressing rooms, make no further attempt to do something quite as inappropriate. Steve perked up when he saw them, waving from the table that he'd grabbed near a Subway. Natasha was getting the two of them sandwiches, and she waved to Tony when she saw them, Tony's credit card in the palm of her hand. He rolled his eyes but just moved over to join them.

“What's that?” Tony asked, pointing at the cups on the table. Once Steve had identified the danger of stealing Natasha's drink, Tony grabbed his instead and took a long sip. “Sprite, really? That is such an old man drink.”

“Better than that seven flavour monstrosity you always get. Are you sure that they don't put anything illegal into that stuff?”

“I mix and match from the vending machine,” Tony grumbled. “And it tastes great. Usually I don't even grab from the iced tea or the energy drinks or anything. Keep it simple with only like six things. Nat getting food for all of us?”

“Nah. Didn't know how long you'd be. Figured it depended on whether or not you found some kind of electronics store or not. Last time that happened, I almost had to carry you out of the mall before security figured out all the stuff you were playing around with.”

“Lies. Foul lies of accusation and liehood. Anyway. Stranger things have happened! I see a Chick-fil-A,” Tony decided, drumming his fingers on the tabletop. Once Natasha came back over to their table a moment later, he plucked his credit card from her hand. “Hey kid, what do you want?”

“Anything,” Clint said with a mumble, shrugging his shoulders. “I ain't picky.”

“So unoriginal, oh my god. It's painful being the only one that knows exactly what they want out of a mall food court. Not rocket science, kid. Okay, hold on a sec, here.” Tony dug into his pocket and got a couple twenty dollar bills out, handing them to Clint. “Go get whatever you want but don't leave the food court and stay in sight of Steve. We'll keep an eye on you and make sure no one manages to grab you.”

“Uh, does that usually happen to you guys? Kidnapping stuff?”

“Not unless we actively allow something to happen,” Natasha said. “But you're a kid now. You'd be the best target. Weaker, younger, and unable to defend yourself. Steve is the best at getting through crowds to save people, so that's why you're gonna stick close to him. Or within shouting distance, anyway. Now go on, go get some food. Right, Tony?”

“Yeah, sure, yup. Go on and feed. I mean, place this big probably has a soybean vegan tofu place or something. I don't even know about these weird fad diets any more. People can't even just go out for a burger without twenty-five different toppings, it's ridiculous.”

“Stop ranting like a seventy-year-old,” Natasha told him, rolling her eyes.

Steve snorted. “Oh honestly, I wasn't that bad.”

“Okay. Thanks,” Clint mumbled, shoving the bills in his pocket to avoid losing them. Natasha was currently bickering with the supersoldier, bringing up some story involving nickels and a rigged arcade game. Clint was pretty sure he didn't want to know about that, and instead he went on a walk around the food court, checking out the options.

Steve watched him and Tony go off to opposite ends of the food court, getting food for themselves. While he'd prefer to keep his attention on the man more likely to wander off or get in trouble, Clint was, in fact, at greater risk of having something happen to him, so he dragged his gaze over to the teen. Before long they both came back, and Tony tossed a bag of chips at the teen, who caught them instinctively but with a puzzled look. Nat slid a pair of cookies over with one finger, raising a sculpted eyebrow when Clint glared at her for the offering. He switched his displeasure to Tony, who just shrugged a little bit and took a long sip from his soda.

“Why are we all feeding Clint?” Steve asked, looking puzzled. Clint flicked him a brief glare as well but said nothing about it.

“Because we all got full meals and he got a dollar-menu burger. Not even a cheeseburger. Or a drink.” Tony rolled his eyes like that was a mortal offense to his soul. He also snatched Steve's drink and set it down in front of Clint's burger. “There you go, all finished off. Much better than that lame thing you had there.”

“Um. What?”

“You got yourself a snack and we turned it into actual food. Which is what friends do because they kind of like each other just a little bit. So there you go, kid, you're welcome.” Tony looked happy with himself in the brief moment before he centered on his own food, effectively forgetting about Clint.

Clint still looked a little stunned at the effort and forethought that had happened with the others helping him out, but he just shrugged a little and reached for the bag of chips. Steve pestered Tony into going to replace his drink, which only took a couple of minutes, and then they all settled back in to eat. Natasha and Steve discussed a local art gallery that would be opening next weekend, with a display that apparently focused on ancient Chinese calligraphy, while Tony focused on something on his phone that Clint couldn't even try to understand. Between the art and the tech, Clint was pretty lost, but it was better than having all three of them focused on him. That much attention couldn't be good.

Eventually the conversation about art broke off, and Steve started talking to Clint, asking him if there was anything else he wanted. That started a discussion about everything they'd gotten so far, and Natasha said that they'd bought everything necessary considering what they already had back home. It took them a while to actually stop talking once they started, and Steve took care of the trash as Tony chatted with Clint. They spoke about a few of the things that Tony had been working on related to Clint and his toys, and the genius promised to show him a few. He didn't ask if Clint needed hearing aids but figured there would be time for that later. No reason to clue in anybody possibly listening on the kid's potential weakness.

Natasha disappeared, leaving the other three to collect the remaining few bags and go out to the parking lot and put them in the car. Tony honestly looked surprised at how much stuff was crammed into the trunk of the car, and Clint briefly looked like he was going to fall over backward. Steve got all three of them in the car, Natasha showing up and sliding into the backseat just as they were buckling their seat belts.

The ride back to the Tower was mostly quiet, apart from Tony's rambling about the crossbow that had been in the glovebox. Once they arrived at the Tower, they took as many bags as they could, loading everything into the elevator and letting Clint drive the car back to its parking spot. He offered the keys back but Tony told him to keep them. Steve insisted that he didn't drive it without one of the Avengers with him that wasn't Tony. When Tony looked faintly put out by his exclusion, Steve simply reminded him of his track record.

It took a little while to get everything in Clint's suite, especially since Lucky wanted to help. They'd cleared his original suite of potential booby traps and most weapons, so they'd let him choose to move back there if he wanted, and he had. As far as the dog went, he mostly got in the way, and Steve almost tripped over him twice before Tony enticed him to the couch with a piece of cheese. Once there, Lucky yawned and stretched out, apparently just fine with laying there with a squeaky toy as all of the humans fooled around. Natasha vanished as soon as everything was unloaded into Clint's bedroom, giving the dog a quick pat but refusing to acknowledge Tony's triumphantly yelled 'knew she wasn't just a cat person, Steve'.

“Do you need any help?” Steve asked, motioning toward the dozens of bags littered on and around the bed. It was kind of an impressive amount, especially if the teen wasn't used to having things for himself until now. When Clint said he was okay, the older blond nodded and told him to ask for anything needed before leaving him to whatever he wanted to do in his room. Tony was in the kitchen, the corner of a blueberry Pop-tart in his mouth as he poked at the toaster with the handle of a fork. “Honestly, Tony, you just ate a full meal.”

“Blueberries,” Tony protested, like that explained everything.

“You're hopeless,” Steve muttered. “Stop assaulting Clint's food and appliances, hmm?” He grabbed Tony's arm tugged him toward the elevator, not at all swayed by the fact that Tony apparently wanted to... do something ridiculously high-tech to a piece that only had about four parts. Even though Steve was smart, he couldn't often figure out what was happening without a few minutes of explanation. The genius whined about being told to leave, but once Steve threatened to pick him up and carry him, he did as suggested, even though he was pouting.

Clint glanced away after they were gone, as confused as ever. Tony had put more money into a single shopping trip than his mother had sometimes put into a month's worth of groceries. He'd refused to let Clint try to pay him back when he'd offered, and had even said that nothing was owed to him. And just now, he'd seen Tony talking and leaning against Steve, taking comfort in affection from another man even though he knew at least one of them had a girlfriend and they hadn't seemed to be in any kind of relationship relationship.

None of those things made any sense to him, especially not all put together. People didn't give without asking for payback. Even with how valuable he was to the show, he'd never gotten a thing without having to pay. But given that these guys had managed to kidnap him off the streets, the circus couldn't have wanted him too badly. They hadn't even realised he was missing until it was too late.

Lucky had decided to wake up and wander into the bedroom, instantly taking doggy delight in all the smells from the bags scattered around the floor. Clint worked around him rather than making him move, not caring that he was there as long as he didn't try to chew on anything. It took forever to get everything put away, mostly because Lucky had parked himself on the bed among all the packages and required attention every time Clint came near him. Beyond pausing to tug a hoodie over his head, he stayed focused apart the dog. Eventually all the clothes were put away, and there were only a couple bags of other things, so Clint just put them on the floor and flopped on the bed. The dog was ecstatic with the petting he received, and got up to move around enough to rest his head on the teen's chest.

“Hey, buddy,” Clint said, scratching behind his ears. “Got myself into a weird thing here, huh?” Despite being told that he didn't have to pay off what was being done for him, he didn't believe that for a minute. Tony might not want a toy, and he couldn't really get a read on Natasha to get her preferences, but he didn't believe for a second that Steve was as wholesome as he seemed. Maybe that could be his way in. If he wasn't careful, he'd end up walking funny, and he didn't doubt that Steve would want to keep it secret from the team. Well, Clint knew how to keep his mouth shut. And he wasn't too distressed at the prospect of being a kept man. For everything that Tony was paying for, the blond could do whatever he wanted to him.

Still, the dog didn't answer, and Clint wasn't really sure what kind of response he could've hoped for anyway. He had no idea why these guys had picked him out of all the other cheap underage hookers on the streets, but he wasn't gonna complain. All the clothes and the food were pretty nice, but honestly Lucky was the coolest part. Clint had always wanted a dog. With everything combined, though, Steve could do whatever he wanted and whenever he wanted. If Clint managed to catch his eye. Once he figured out what Steve liked, he was sure he could. Unless the person who chose him had some kind of kink that made him like watching his boy being taken care of by someone else, it was one of the people that had been with him at the mall, and it clearly wasn't Tony, and probably wasn't Natasha.

And honestly, Clint would have preferred it was Steve. If someone came looking for him, the blond was the strongest member on the team, physically. He didn't seem like the kind of guy to dump money into a plaything only to leave it hanging. While Clint wasn't expecting anyone to catch up with him, he couldn't be too careful. Steve had an image to keep up as a member of the Avengers, so he'd stay away from leaving too many visible marks on him while Clint was earning his keep. But he also wouldn't want to abandon a teenager if there was any public knowledge of him.

While he wasn't planning on it, he ended up dozing off while he was still on the bed. Lucky started snoring, which was, ironically, the thing that ended up waking him. He yawned, then groaned, rubbing a hand down his face. The dog was still snoring on top of him, and he let him stay there for a moment, not having any reason to move. Eventually he asked Jarvis what time it was and found out he'd only been asleep for an hour. Jarvis assured him that he 'had nothing on his schedule' and that his 'presence would not be mandatory at any functions'. All the high-rise language made him roll his eyes, but he had no desire to go put himself out there. Unless maybe he got some food.

\--

Tony had not been so idle in the meantime. He'd gone right to his lab, and since he had some tech that he'd made for Steve, the blond had gone with him. “Oh yeah, the teenager tried to blow me,” he mentioned, grabbing for a welder's mask and tugging it down over his face

Steve reared back, his face a comical mask of surprise. Tony would have laughed a little if it wasn't such a serious conversation. “Wait, what?”

“What?” Tony mimicked.

“Clint?”

“Don't tell me that we have another teenager running around. Oh my god, one of them is enough. Having two of them would just be horrible. Ew, we're gonna have hormones and crushes and everything nasty that happens in high school.”

“Yes, I'm talking about Clint, Tony. Focus. What happened?”

“He said he wanted to pay me back for what we did for him. The shopping spree and the car and stuff, I guess.” Tony shrugged a little, not really wanting to admit that he knew where Clint was coming from. Using his body to make someone want to keep him around wasn't something Tony was wholly unfamiliar with. It was kind of how he'd gone through most of college. Rhodey had been the only one not trying to get into his pants, come to think of it. Weird basis for a relationship, but, well, there were probably stranger ones.

“So he tried to...”

“Tried to suck me off in a dressing room. And asked me how else I wanted him to pay when I said no.”

“Um. Okay. Did he say anything else?”

“Nah. Figure we should talk to him?”

“I don't know. We could ask Sam?” Steve suggested.

“Don't you think he's gonna think it's weird that Clint tried to get me to have sex with him? I mean, he is a child and he, y'know! Sam knows a lot of stuff, seriously, but it's gonna seem weird that the one and only playboy on the team got approached by a kid looking to give him a blowjob to pay for decent human kindness. Like, seriously, Steve. He thought he had to pay me back just because I wasn't gonna let him go naked and hungry while he was living under my roof. Nobody would have just left him to do stuff on his own.”

“But Sam's the only one with any kind of counselling experience. And Clint needs something. Therapy or an adult figure, I dunno, but we can't just do nothing about it. I mean, c'mon, Tony. No way can we just let this slide and hope that it doesn't happen again later because you turned him down the first time. He's a child, not a hooker.”

“Well, I mean, I think he was both. He looked sixteen, and he said he got grabbed out of a parking lot. Chances are, he was on his knees for some guy with a twenty-dollar bill. Probably had a fake ID for the people who didn't care what age he was as long as he was good.” Tony had, fortunately, never gotten mixed up in any of that, but he was familiar with the, ah, 'industry'. Nothing he'd done underage had ever hit the headlines or anything, but he knew how to make sure that he wasn't doing anything he wasn't supposed to. He'd been in plenty of awkward situations, especially once he was the head of Stark Industries, but never anything illegal.

“You can't be serious.”

“Did you think that stuff like that didn't happen? Honestly, Steve, I get that you're Captain America and all that, but really. You can't be that naive.”

“I didn't think that people would still use underage hookers. That there were, y'know, laws and stuff in place for all of that. Protecting kids on the streets doing all of those things.”

“People want a piece of quick, cheap fun. They don't care if it's legal. Lots of guys might be sick enough to use a kid's mouth, but I doubt that's the only thing they did... But the point is, we gotta do something to help him out, Steve. He's just a kid and he doesn't deserve any of this. He deserves a home and a couple of parents.”

“And we're the legal guardians on the paperwork,” Steve concluded, sighing.

“Exactly. So while Clint probably isn't going to like it, it's our job to make sure he's okay. We don't need him to like it. Just need to make sure that we do him everything we can to give him a chance at being normal. Okay, bad word choice, cause nobody in this building is normal. But you get what I mean.”

“Yeah, I get it. But you have his best interest in mind. More than me, apparently. I really wasn't thinking with all this stuff.”

“Hey, it's not your fault. Probably figured I was the easier mark with my history. At least I don't have to get jealous that someone's trying to seduce my boyfriend. Poor Pepper deals with far too much from me already.” Tony grinned when Steve chuckled, low and warm.

“Not like anyone would have a chance at that. So what do you have for me to look at?”

“Ah, y'know, normal stuff.”

“The last 'normal' thing you wanted me to test-drive shouldn't have been able to exist.”

“...Point. Okay, so here's the deal.” Tony explained soon enough – it's simple tech compared to some of the stuff he gets up to. He'd already done some initial testing, which explained the bruising on his ribs Steve had caught a glimpse of earlier. Most of what he wants help with is a new targeting algorithm in the suit. As far as paper targets go, it's worked perfectly, but shooting at targets is far different than shooting at someone who's not only ducking your shots but returning them. Steve is equipped with an electronic version of his shield and pistol and the two of them start sparring.

If they'd been using actual weapons, there would have been significant damage to the lab, but Tony had clipped a projector to his gauntlets so it was shooting light beams instead of his repulsors. Steve's gun and shield were made of the same tech, so even though there were a few errant shots, none of them made contact, although Jarvis kept track of the score between them. Tony fussed over miniscule errors in the handling and targeting, nothing that would make a difference in the field, but enough that he claimed to notice it. Steve slipped out while he was working and left completely unnoticed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, new chapter! Comments are the lifeblood of all authors and I always love hearing what y'all've go to say. Should have another chapter up within a week.


	5. Chapter 5

Once he was out of the lab, Steve asked Jarvis about Clint, concerned given what Tony had told him about the mall. The AI replied that he was currently figuring out how the Xbox worked and playing an Iron Man-themed game. Steve rolled his eyes at the console's inventory but wasn't at all surprised that that was what was there. Tony was nothing if not dependable, whether it came to sacrificing himself for his teammates or being self-centered.

 

“Ask him if I could have his permission to join him, please, Jarvis.” Steve got what he asked for a moment later and the elevator brought him to the teen's floor. Clint's game was on pause when he got there, and he was in the kitchen with Lucky, flicking Cheerios at him from the handful he was eating himself. He straightened up when he saw Steve coming in, and Lucky barked to redirect his owner's attention back to feeding him. “Don't let me interrupt you,” Steve said with a grin.

 

“What's up?” the teen asked, his casual tone betrayed by his tense body language.

 

“I was helping Tony test some tech and I thought I'd check on you now that we'd finished up. He, ah, he mentioned what happened between you two at the mall...” Steve clearly didn't know how to finish that train of thought once he'd started it.

 

“Looking for a private dance, daddy-o? For you, it won't be extra.”Clint leaned back against the counter, his already-low sweatpants dropping another inch on his hips with the movement, and looked Steve up and down. “I'd even say you were doing me a favour.”

 

“I – _no_ ,” Steve yelped, scandalised. “No, Clint, I'd never. I came here to tell you that you didn't have to do those kinds of things. You don't have to try to earn anything we give you. Truth is, the team owes you. Adult you, from the future, that is. But even if that wasn't the case, you're just a kid. Doing... any of that, that would be wrong, even if I wasn't your legal guardian. Morally and legally.”

 

“My what.” Clint looks surprised, a marked difference to his earlier attempts at seduction.

 

“Your legal guardian. At fourteen years old, you're still a kid. By law, you're required to have a parent or a guardian. We're still trying to see if you have any family left, but right now, it's just me and Tony. Though Natasha is your emergency contact. If you'd rather someone else, once you get to know the team better, we can do that, of course.”

 

“Aw, c'mon. I ain't a kid that needs babysitting. I can look after myself.”

 

“Sure, as evidenced by the fact that you thought we kidnapped you out of a parking lot where you were being a hooker.”

 

“Hey, I was doing all right providing for myself.”

 

“But you don't have to, Clint. You're still our teammate even if you're a kid. And we're all going to take care of you no matter what so you better get used to it. There's no getting rid of us.” Steve realised he'd been speaking sharply when Clint drew back a little, eyeing him warily, and he took a step back. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell.” He brushed a hand through his hair, sighing, and glanced back up at him. “Really, I am. A good friend of mine was a lot like you when he was a kid, and he had some bad stuff done to him in the war. I just don't like the thought of anyone being in a situation like that. Much less someone I could protect.”

 

“I took care of myself. I was doing all right.”

 

“Yeah, okay. Really, though, I am sorry for yelling at you. Do you need anything or...?”

 

“Nah, I'm good.”

 

“Okay, uh, great. Are you gonna come down to dinner? Sam is making meatloaf and we're gonna watch a couple of movies. You can bring Lucky along with you too. Everybody always feeds him under the table. I try to get them to behave but I do it too, y'know?”

 

Clint smiles at that, seeming to relax a little. “So he used to come around here a lot?”

 

“Sure did. If you knew you'd have to be away from home for more than a couple days, you'd bring him over here instead of asking the neighbours to feed him. He was our friend just as much as you were. Natasha has a cat but otherwise none of us really have pets. Bucky was shopping around for a parrot or something, but when he got together with Nat, he put it off for a little. Didn't want Liho eating it.”

 

“That redhead's got a boyfriend?”

 

“She seems too scary for it, doesn't she? But she and Buck, they really love each other. They had a lot of issues with their history... Bucky was tortured and brainwashed by the same people that did a lot to Natasha. He didn't even know his own name, tried to kill her and me both. Once we realised what had happened, she gave him a second chance. And it went from there.”

 

“Freaky assassin lady is in a relationship with the guy who almost murdered her?”

 

“Weird how that happens, isn't it? But neither one of them would be there if they didn't want it. Natasha was wary at first, until we realised just how bad he'd been hurt. He puts his heart into it and so does she. Honestly most of us didn't think it would work, but they were determined to move past what had been done to them. And they really do have a solid relationship. I'm really proud of both of them. Everything they managed to get through together helped solidify Bucky's connection with the team as well, when it was all said and done.”

 

“And they're okay working with the guy that came closed to killing two of their team members?”

 

“It took a while. And there were plenty of times I thought there was no chance of it. But he did his best and it was more than enough. He's saved all of our lives and done a lot more besides. Made up for his past. Bucky, he... he'll never think he's done enough, but he has. Still, there's a lot more to the team than that. Buck doesn't talk much about himself. We're all kinda quiet at times but we're a solid family. You ever need anything, we'll be here for you.”

 

“Sounds great when you say it like that,” Clint tells him, clearly sceptical.

 

“You didn't trust us for a long time as an adult, either,” Steve confesses. “We never really found out why, apart from Natasha, but she never said anything about you. She kept your secrets. I don't know if she would tell you, but she'll always have your best interests in mind. Even if she's scary, Natasha always had a soft spot for you.”

 

“I can't really see her being soft toward anyone.”

 

“Neither did I, for a long time. But she cares. Especially about you. She's always been closer to you than any of us. And even though I don't want that to change, I hope I can get to know you better despite all of this. You're a good man.”

 

“Or I was in the old version of reality.”

 

“The person you grow up to be didn't just pop up fully formed. You were a great person before you became an Avenger. It wouldn't be ideal for you to semi-permanently be a kid, but we'll protect and befriend you no matter what. Even if you don't know us, and we don't know you, there's plenty of time for that to change. Didn't you have friends when you were with the circus?”

 

“Just a couple people I could trust not to rob me. And Barney.”

 

“So you've always had someone, even if it was just some _one_. And now you've got us. You'll get used to us eventually, I guess. Even if you don't want to live in the Tower, you've got your place in Bed-Stuy and probably a few others that we don't know about. Maybe a place out in Iowa? That's where you said you were from, I think.”

 

“Yeah. A small town. But it was good at the time. Me and my brother grew up all right for a while.”

 

“Well, we could try to find him if you want. He's your closest living relative unless you've got another sibling.” They were probably legally required to try to notify them, but Steve didn't want to bring that up unless Clint confirmed he wanted to try to find him. At the moment, the teen looked pretty hesitant.

 

“The two of us kinda fought a lot. He probably wouldn't want to take me even if he could.” Clint would not be at all surprised if Barney had ended up jailed twenty-five to life. “But if you know what happened to him...”

 

“I don't,” Steve apologised. “Jarvis might be able to find something, though. He's pretty good at that.”

 

“Mr Barton has a file about his brother in his bedroom,” the AI said. “He requested that it be kept off of my servers to eliminate potential security concerns. To the best of my knowledge, however, the file is completely composed of information from trustworthy sources.”

 

“Thanks,” Clint replied quietly. “I'll check that out later.”

 

“I hope you find what you're looking for,” Steve told him. “But in any case, you should join us for dinner. I promise we don't bite.”

 

Clint smiled a little at that. “Yeah, I'll think about it.”

 

“Great,” he agreed, returning the smile. “Anyway I'm sorry for interrupting you. Just wanted to check to make sure you were okay. I'll see you later then, maybe.” Steve mumbled a few other awkward sentences before escaping to the elevator.

 

Once he was gone, Clint went back to flicking cheerios at his dog. Lucky was just fine with eating all that was given to him but eventually the teen broke it off to go back to his video games. He pointedly ignored the fact that he had a file about his brother in his bedroom. Or that he'd been invited to some kind of team dinner. Was that like some weird kind of family dinner? Did the others have expectations of him? None of them had said anything so far but he didn't expect that to stay the same. Even kids didn't get free rides, despite rich places like this one.

 

Jarvis kept quiet until he reminded Clint that the team would be getting together in half an hour for dinner. The teen just mumbled an okay but didn't say anything else, not yet sure if he wanted to go. He needed to figure out who he could go to in order to earn his keep, but he also wanted to believe what Tony and Steve had said about not having to do that. Lucky whined, setting his head on Clint's knee and thumping his tail against the coffee table.

 

“Guess it's a problem, huh, buddy?” he asked, rubbing behind Lucky's ears. He didn't want to have to dish himself out to everyone who wanted some fun, but he knew nobody would let a worthless kid like him stick around for no reason. Especially not somewhere he was getting food, housing, and clothes. These people even fed him pizza and gave him a dog. Clint sniffed, rubbing the back of his hand over one eye. “No way out of this one.” Maybe he could find someone who'd go gentle on him sometimes.

 

He grabbed his hoodie out of his bedroom and went to the elevator, letting Lucky come with him. Steve had said he could, and besides, Clint had no problem having a dog there for a little emotional support. And when the others noticed he'd showed up, they seemed as happy to see the dog as they were to see him. That said a lot about how popular he was, he guessed. Everyone was there except for Tony, Bucky, and Natasha. Nat had evidently gone to get the other two, since Tony had been working on something for Bucky and evidently forgot about the whole eating thing. The three of them showed up together after a few minutes so Clint figured what he'd heard was right.

 

“Hey hey, look who's here,” Tony said, more perky than Clint believed the situation warranted. “Good to see you, kid.” In a show of blatant disregard for personal space, he grabbed Clint for a brief but full body hug before moving on into the kitchen. Clint blinked, totally taken aback by the other man's behaviour, but from the way the rest of the team ignored him, it was totally normal. Tony fluttered around like the social butterfly he was and managed to say hi to and annoy everyone before hopping up onto the center kitchen island. Apparently it was expected of him to snatch food from everyone who got close enough and left their food even remotely unguarded.

 

Lucky did exactly the same thing so Clint didn't think it was too unusual. He wandered over toward the tv to check out what was happening there, since most of the team was congregated in that general area. A red-headed lady waved him over, introducing herself as Pepper, Tony's girlfriend and CEO of Stark Industries. She asked about the shopping trip, apologised in advance for Tony, and asked what felt like a hundred questions about what he did and didn't like.

 

“Pepper, you're gonna use up all his words on food choices,” a man said with a chuckle. He had dark shoulder-length hair and what looked like a prosthetic hand, though Clint wasn't sure just what it was since he was wearing a hoodie. “Teenagers are only allowed to talk to adults so much before they have to go back to their quiet surly ways.”

 

“Yeah, like you were any better as a kid, Buck,” Steve yelled from the kitchen. “Both of our mamas tanned your hide.”

 

“I was an angelic child, Rogers, you're mistaken.”

 

Natasha gave a very unladylike snort and swatted his shoulder as she passed him to sit on one of the couches. “With all the trouble you get into these days, Dzheymsets? You shock me.”

 

Bucky grins and goes to join her, nudging a foot between hers and kissing her cheek. “That's what I've got you for, obviously. It's not like anyone else is smart enough to put up with me and get all the many benefits of my company.”

 

“All of us are stuck putting up with you, Barnes,” Sam informs him. “There's no way to get rid of you.”

 

“We even tried sticking you in a freezer once,” Natasha agreed.

 

“And that would be the time I got brainwashed and tortured or the time Sam suggested exposure therapy as a joke and me and Thor went along with it?” Bucky asked.

 

“Do you have a preference?” Natasha smirks when he just rolls his eyes and leans into her. She does the same, far more relaxed than Clint's ever seen her despite his short stay. When Sam dumps a blanket over their heads, Nat scowls at him but Bucky just wraps it around both their shoulders, using the opportunity to pull his girlfriend into a one-armed hug and snuggle down with her. Clint realises he's staring at the blatant show of affection and ducks his head.

 

The team seems more interested in chatting with each other than eating despite Clint having been told that it was a team dinner he was going to. Everyone seems friendly with each other even though Clint has never seen them all in one place before now. They're all pretty loud, but he's mostly deaf in one ear and half deaf in the other, so he doesn't hear most of it. Usually he figures out when someone is talking to him and gets along well enough. Most of the attention isn't on him anyway.

 

Steve finally says the food's ready and it's time to eat, and all the Avengers gravitate into the kitchen within a few minutes. Bucky tied the corners of the blanket around his neck like a cape, and there's a lively discussion starting as to whether he or Thor looks better like that. It's unanimously agreed that Thor gets point for having armour, but Bucky claims he gets points for using a blanket. Natasha says he also gets points for being adorable, snickering when Bucky protests.

 

Everyone swarms to feed themselves, but Clint hangs back a little until the others clear out a little. Lucky stands by eagerly begging from everyone and is greatly rewarded. Steve reprimands all of them but does the same thing when he thinks most of them aren't watching. That backfires since Bucky apparently has eyes in the back of his head to know when Steve is doing stuff he shouldn't. Clint has to admit that that was pretty funny. All the others seem to check to have tasked themselves to make sure he eats what they think is enough.

 

Clint curls up on one of the armchairs with his plate balanced on the side of his knee. Lucky parks himself at his side and pants heavily until the teen feeds him something. Then he's off to beg from someone else. Everyone chatters until Tony whistles sharply enough that even Clint can hear him clearly. He announces that they're going to put a movie on and that everyone has one chance to put in a recommendation, which leads to a few brief seconds of quiet before the noise starts again, though at a more manageable sound. In the end they decide that they're going to watch _The Hobbit_ trilogy over the next three days and then move on to _The Lord of the Rings_.

 

Getting ready to watch a movie means everyone moves around to fit onto as few pieces of furniture as possible. Clint ends up snagging the end seat of a couch and the opposite spot is promptly taken by Natasha. Bucky comes with her, which attracts Steve, and Lucky jumps up to claim Steve's and Clint's laps. Wanda, Pietro, Bruce, and Sam all fit onto the other couch. Pepper sits down on the loveseat and Tony loses no time in sitting down next to her. Both redheads seem very happy to have the man of their choice with them and Clint can't help but wonder how much work it is to put on an act like that. He's never seen people so completely happy to be around one another, much less couples doing affectionate things like that. Tony acts like Pepper's the reason the sun rises in the morning and Bucky and Nat look like they're always giving each other some sign of affection. It's achingly unfamiliar and he catches himself looking for signs of abuse that clearly aren't there.

 

He misses what's being said in the movie about a quarter of the time since he can't always hear it, but he thinks he gets the gist of things. Tony rants about some kind of scientific thing or other for about the first half hour before he passes out, his head in Pepper's lap. She pets him, hand moving in soothingly repetitive motions over his head as he mumbles in his sleep. It takes no time for him to snuggle into her touch and quiet down.

 

Bucky, meanwhile, has his arm around Nat's shoulders throughout the movie and she seems to find it very comfortable to lean into his side. He kisses her hair and she says something quiet to him in a language Clint doesn't recognise. Whatever it is, it makes him laugh under his breath, and Clint can clearly read his lips when he says 'I love you'. Steve makes a complaining noise and Bucky chuckles before leaning back against the couch. Nat stays with him, smiling in thanks when Bucky drapes the blanket over her instead of still sharing it.

 

Once the movie ends, Tony, Bruce, and Sam are all asleep. Pietro had been banished to one of the loveseats since he kept moving around and getting up to do things. Steve had mumbled an explanation about experiments and super speed, but Pietro had seemed pretty interested in watching the movie to the end despite his fidgeting. Wanda hadn't made a move or a sound but Clint had gotten the idea that she'd been paying very close attention to the film all the same. The three sleeping men start waking up when everyone else moves around cleaning up their dishes and folding blankets.

 

“It was great to see you, Clint,” Steve tells him. “Gonna come back tomorrow night to watch _The Desolation of Smaug_?”

 

“To watch what?” Clint replies. Once Steve explains that that's the name of the next movie in the trilogy, he nods, understanding what he meant. “Yeah, I'd like to. Can't miss a chance to feed Lucky.” Upon hearing his name, the dog pants happily and bangs his tail against the counter.

 

Steve chuckles and nods. “I bet he eats a lot. But anyway. Thank you for eating with us. Even though things are a lot different now, with you being a teenager and all, we still want to be here for you much as we can.”

 

“Um, thanks.” Clint wasn't expecting to hear that but he's not about to turn him down. Steve gives him a hug that feels as awkward as it looks, but Clint doesn't mind in the slightest. “I'll see you later, then.”

 

Since Steve intends to stay in the kitchen for a while, Clint leaves to go back to his room. Lucky trails along behind him, obviously choosing him as the best possible source of food and affection. Clint gives him exactly what he asks for, not minding a bit, but leaves him alone for a while as he goes into his bedroom. It doesn't take him long to shower, change into pajamas, and get into bed. Lucky jumps up with him, and Clint laughs as he roughhouses with the dog a little before settling down for the night. All things considered, tonight had been... Great. Tonight had been great.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprised this chapter is up? Yeah same to be honest. Anyway hope y'all like and maybe I'll get around to the next one soon.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! So, we're gonna see where this goes. I was always interested in Clint's history before he joined SHIELD. An ex-carnie with unparalleled archery skills? Where does he fit into a world of superspies? Of course, there's also plenty of interesting points in his childhood and teenage years. And that was the era that particularly caught my attention. One of the roleplays I'm in with a friend recently explored the dynamic between Tony and his father (wibbly wobbly timey wimey time-travel and a lot of screaming, let me tell you) and it nudged my interest into Tony As A Dad back to life. Let's see where it takes us!
> 
> Kudos and comments always appreciated :) Come hang out with me on tumblr! the-star-spangled-bucky.tumblr.com


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